Age of Jefferson - Section 3: What were the successes and failures of the Jefferson administrations?


Jefferson Administration (1801-1809) By: Ashley Wright and Ashley Anderson



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Thomas Jefferson


Background:

Thomas Jefferson was born in Shadwell, Virginia on April 13, 1743. Jefferson was a smarter child, and enjoyed studying. On average, he studied up to fifteen hours per day. Some of his favorite subjects included: philosophy, architecture, and natural sciences. By the age of sixteen Jefferson entered college at William and Mary, in Williamsburg. Earlier in his adulthood, he became a lawyer and was a part of the Virginia Burgess. Later in his adulthood, he was known as the author of the Decleration of Independence. This took place on July 4, 1776. Many of his ideas came from Alexander Hamilton and British Empircists. When Jefferson was in his later years in life, he ran for president, and was elected for two terms. He was then known for being the third president of the United States. By July 4, 1826, Thomas Jefferson passed away due to natural causes.

Quotes:

"Educate and inform the whole mass of people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of liberty."
Jefferson had intended this quote to mean that the people have a say in the government. The government should express their reasoning and decisions with the community because it is fair.
"Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever persuasion, religious, or political."
Jefferson did not descriminate against anyone. He believed that everyone was equal with the same rights. This quote was said in his first inaugural address, so everyone knew his motives from the beginning. He was well respected. After all, he was known as "the man of the people".

First Term as President:

Running as the third president of the United Sates, Thomas Jefferson brought our government together. He was elected in 1801 and the vice president became Aaron Burr. During Jefferson's first term as president, his treasurer, Albert Gallatin, was one to jump to conclusions. Due to a great amount of the national debt, Gallatin had expressed that he wanted to pay off the national debt within sixteen years. Having a rapidly growing debt, it caused taxes to be very high. One of Gallatin ideas was to eliminate the millitary and the size of the government, but this was not in Jefferson's plans. Jefferson did not want to get rid of the federalists ways because he felt that some were good. One of them was Bank of America, he thought it was still a good addition to the government. Also, Jefferson was not up to the challenge to reduce the size of office holders. Instead, Jefferson chose to fill vacancies with support. Jefferson also had a strong opinion about the Alien and Sedition Acts. He found them to be unconstitutional. The acts either expired or they were repealed in 1802.

Second Term as President:

Jefferson was again elected president in 1805. The vice president was George Clinton. Jefferson had his mind set on reducing the national debt. To accomplish this, he decreased the militatry and the overall budget. By doing this, the national debt declined one third of its previous total. He also repealed the tax on whiskey because he didn't agree with it. Jefferson had many challenges to face in his second term. Foreign affairs were big problems. Over seas, there was a napoleonic war between Britain and France. This greatly affected trade for America. Trade continued between America and the foreign countries, but they ended up getting in the middle of it. The event that caused Jefferson to take action was on the American ship, The Chesapeake. The Chesapeake was attacked by British warships. Jefferson decided to take action and set the Embargo Act of 1807. This act forbade imports and exports with foreign countries. Unfortunatly, this act did not work in Jefferson's favor. Trade was what kept our country running, and without it we fell apart. Due to its failure, the act was repealed on March 1, 1809; three days before Jefferson left office.

Citations:
http://sc94.ameslab.gov/TOUR/tjefferson.html
http://whitehouse.gov
http://www.freedomshrine.com/documents/jefferson.html

http://www.history.org/alanack/life/politics/tjinaug2.cfm
http://www.americanrevolution.com/Thomasjefferson.htm

John Marshall's Supreme Court (pages 206-207)

-Claire Hill & Jessica Higgins-


General

Thomas Jefferson's cousin, John Marshall, was in fact his political enemy. Naturally, Marshall was appointed by John Adams
  • John Marshall practiced law before getting involved in Federalist politics
  • Appointed by John Adams
  • Turned down Supreme Court in 1782
  • John Marshall became the Fourth Chief Justice of the court in January 27, 1801
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    John Marshall
  • Was Chief of Justice for 34 years, longest tenure of any Chief Justice
  • Marshall was a Federalist
  • Defined the power of the Supreme court and the Judiciary system

Marshall's Four-Part Legacy

  • Claimed the power to review the acts of Congress and of the President to determine if they were constitutional (Judicial Review)
  • Insisted that federal laws were superior to state laws
  • Favored a broad interpretation of the Constitution
  • Insisted upon the "sanctity of contracts"

Marbury vs. Madison (1801)

  • Executive branch and Legislative branch had defined powers
  • John Adams appointed William Marbury (Federalist) as a justice for the District of Columbia
  • James Madison, Secretary of State, refused to give him the papers
  • Marbury complained to the Supreme Court
  • Marshall ruled in favor of Madison
  • John Marshall decided which powers that weren't written in the Constitution belonged to the Judicial branch
  • Doctrine of Judicial Review was made
  • Courts authority to declare laws and statutes Unconstitutional (overturn acts of Congress)
  • Case where first law passed by congress that was Unconstitutional
  • Marshall refused to seat 4 judicial appointees which were appointed by Senate

Establishing Important Precedents

  • First precedent was Judicial Review
  • Marshall never ruled another law unconstitutional
  • Most decisions overruled state laws
  • He did this to defend businesses and state commerce
external image MARSHALL.jpg

Citations

http://www.supremecourthistory.org/02_history/subs_timeline/images_chiefs/004.html
http://www.answers.com/topic/john-marshall
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0831715.html
http://www.essortment.com/all/supremecourtch_rjfh.htm
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/FTRIALS/conlaw/judicialrev.htm

Lewis and Clark Expedition

By:Matt Lynch and Peter Vamvilis

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Lewis and Clark's Expedition

Major Expedition Sites-

  • St. Louis- May 14, 1804
  • Ft. Mandan- Late October, 1805
  • Marias River- June 10,1805
  • Lemhi Pass- August 12,1805
  • Ft. Clatsop- January 1,1806

The Louisiana Purchase

On April 30, 1803 the united states signed a treaty with France where the United states purchased the Louisiana territory. The land purchased extended from the Mississippi river to the rocky mountains. The United States purchased this territory for $15 million. Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was the France Emperor who came up with this plan. Before thinking up this plan though, he had a vision of a renewed western empire for France. The control of this territory from Spain would halt the westward expansion of the young United States, and would supply French colonies in the West Indies with goods they needed. In 1800, Napoleon signed a secret treaty called The Treaty of Ildefonso with Spain, an agreement that stipulated taht France would provide Spain with a kingdom for the son-in-law of Spain's king if Spain would return Louisiana to France. This plan collapsed when the twelve-year revolt of slaves and free blacks in the French colony of Saint-Domingue succeeded forcing French troops to return to France. Because of this France couldn't reach their goal of making it to Louisiana and defending it. United States Primarily wanted New Orleans so they could sail vessels down the Mississippi River through Spanish territory and unload goods at New Orleans for shipment to the atlantic coast and to Europe. Days before Monroe was to arrive in Paris Napoleon offered the united states all of the Louisiana territory.

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The Corp of Discovery

The Corp of Discovery

The purpose of William Clark's and Meriwether Lewis' journey was to find a water route to the pacific ocean and explore the west land. They were sent by president Jefferson to explore the newly gained west land, called the Louisiana Purchase. The journey began on the Missouri river in a fifty-five foot keelboat, which contained about 40 men. Along their travels, Clark spent most of his time on the boat charting courses and drawing maps. While Lewis spent most of his time studying rocks, soil, animals, and plants along the way. During their journey they encountered over 300 unknown animal species, over 50 native american tribes, and the Rocky Mountains. Lewis and Clark were accompanied by Toussaint Charbonneau, a French-Canadian fur trapper, his wife Sacagawea, and their son Jean Babtiste. Sacagawea was extremely helpful along the journey because of her navigation skills and her ability to translate the native american languages. Throughout the journey Lewis and Clark encountered many complications with indian nations such as the Teton Sioux and the Shoshone tribes. In all, Lewis and Clark traveled over 8,000 miles in less than 2½ years, losing only one member of their party, and spent a total cost of $40,000 of tax payers money.



Citations-

Primary-

http://www.lewis-clark.org/content/content-channel.asp?ChannelID=262
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/lewisandclark/journey_intro.html

Secondary-
http://ea.grolier.com/cgi-bin/article?assetid=0245190-00
http://lsm.crt.state.la.us/cabildo/cab4.htm